It’s an age old saying – if a woman says she’s slept with a certain amount of people, double it and you’ll have the real answer. Whatever a man says, half it.

Too often men and women lie about their sexual partners to avoid being branded as promiscuous. But how many is really considered too many?

Really, we shouldn’t care. People should be able to have sex with as few or as many people as they like. But according to a Superdrug survey, there actually is a magic number.

And that number according to men is 14. For women? It’s 15.2 – although, I’m not sure how you can have sex with 0.2 people.

Superdrug

According to the study, having slept with seven-and-a-half (or, for argument’s sake, just seven) people in the past was considered the ideal number for both men and women, while having anything less than two was too conservative.

Of those questioned, the men had slept with an average of 6.4 people and the women topped them with seven.

Superdrug

According to the survey (and as we all expected), guys tend to be more likely to lie about the notches on their bedpost, while women tend to decrease their number when asked.

And while the world and its views on sexuality are changing, it’s still possible that men and women may be altering their numbers because of certain outdated perceptions – that is, a woman is perceived to be a slut if she sleeps with a high number of people, while a man with an extensive sexual past feels he has power and masculinity.

When Superdrug broke it down into countries, they found that a number of 14 or more was generally frowned upon in the UK.

Superdrug

The Netherlands was the most conservative country with 11 or more past partners making you promiscuous. While in France, up to 16 people was considered normal.

And does the amount of people you’ve slept with affect future relationships? Luckily for those who’ve had an extensive past – no.

About 30 per cent of people polled said they would consider ending a relationship if their partner’s number was too high, but 37 per cent said they were unlikely to do so.

While the study is eye-opening, how many people someone has slept with should not be met with criticism. If someone’s number is ‘too high’ or ‘too low,’ so be it – people should be able to sleep with as few or as many people as they like without judgement.